Posted on 12/05/2004 2:11:37 PM PST by Steve Newton
HAVE MERCY THE OLD SERGEANT SERIES By Steve Newton (43)
The battle had come at just the wrong time for the platoon. They had been providing security for a convoy of supply trucks when an IED took out the lead truck. Mortars started to fall around them and AK-47 rounds were incoming so thick they sounded like bees. When the lead truck had been hit the drivers in the convoy had panicked and tried to pass the burning truck on the left, which is just what the rag heads wanted them to do. An anti-tank mine exploded under the second truck.
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The battle had come at just the wrong time for the platoon. They had been providing security for a convoy of supply trucks when an IED took out the lead truck. Mortars started to fall around them and AK-47 rounds were incoming so thick they sounded like bees. When the lead truck had been hit the drivers in the convoy had panicked and tried to pass the burning truck on the left, which is just what the rag heads wanted them to do. An anti-tank mine exploded under the second truck.
The old sergeant was riding in the third truck and he immediately grabbed the radio and yelled for everyone to stop where they were, dismount and take up defensive positions. He then ordered all 6 of the platoons M-249 SAW’s to open fire to suppress some of the incoming. He also ordered the men carrying the M-4 carbines mounted with the M203 grenade launcher to fire their 40 mm grenades.
As the enemy fire slowed down he order the 2nd squad to take an up armored Humvee and try to flank the enemy on the left. He sent the 3rd squad around to the right. The goon squad stayed with the convoy to try to protect the rest of the trucks.
Sounds of fighting echoed over the sand dunes and the sergeant began to worry about the fight. However calling the squads on the radio in the middle of a firefight would do neither him nor them any good. He finally called the 1st squads leader and told him to send a couple of men in the opposite direction of the firefight to make sure they were not being flanked themselves.
An hour passed and the 2’nd and 3rd squads finally drove up in a cloud of sand. ‘WE GOT EM SARGE! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!” “Good, the sergeant said. Casualties? “None out of our squads sergeant,” a soldier said. “Ok, you guys round up all of 1st squad and check on the men in the damaged trucks.” As they tried to attend the wounded in the first two trucks and move the damaged vehicles off the road, the doc came running up to report. “Sergeant, we were VERY lucky. Two civilian drivers in the first truck were wounded and one in the second. One of the goon squad got a hand wound but it’s superficial. EVAC is on the way but they are all stable.” “Good news doc,” the old sergeant said. The sergeant grabbed a passing soldier and told him to get the manifests off the first two destroyed trucks so he could report back to Division what they had lost. “Already done sarge,” the soldier said as he handed over the manifests.
As the sergeant glanced through the materials destroyed in the attack, his eyes settled on a case of Jack Daniels and a box of Toro cigars that was supposedly headed for Division but he knew was his.
‘AW HAVE MERCY,” the old sergeant growled.
Steve Newton
NEWTON’S BEST OF THE BEST MILITARY SITE http://steven.newton1.home.att.net/
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